1, Moving house
Yep, we said adios to Yorkshire and headed sort of middlish to the sticks of Shropshire. Having lived the cosmopolitan lifestyle in Leeds, we've now practically donned our dungarees and settled with our brood in the little sleepy (if not lifeless) town of Whitchurch, where the average age of a resident is 75!!
So why would we move to a place where the chances of getting knocked over by a old person on a disabled scooter is more likely than being knocked over by a car??!! Well it's where Rick's family live, not just his parents but his sister too. We made the decision when we found out we were having twins that it would be best to be near family as a few extra pairs of hands would be most helpful. I guess we have to take the rough with the smooth.
Forget good old Harvey Nichs, Marks & Spencer - even Primark, the poshest shop here is Poundland and for the ladies, fashion just doesn't get any better at Ethel Austin! I think there might be more animals than people living in this place too as there are more pet shops than there are those that cater for human need.
Basically if you're old, tight and have four legs - Whitchurch is perfect!!
It's not all doom and gloom though, I get out every day with the twins and we enjoy a walk in the fresh country air (well I walk and they mainly sleep). Having the family around is lovely, Ricks mum looks after the kids whilst I go to the gym (mummy tummy still creeping out over the waistband). And whilst I may scoff at the sleepiness of this place, it's far better than having to cope with the crowds of Leeds city centre.
2, Christmas
God knows why we chose to move house the week before Christmas, and it would also happen to be the coldest week of the year - hoorah!
Christmas shopping was done in one day and pretty much in one department store
3, No broadband - meaning no computer or phone connection
Until Jan 18th we felt like we were living in the Victorian times, contact to the outside world was limited to my mobile phone (Ricks had a poor signal) . People on FB must've thought I was dead or had been kidnapped by aliens as my daily if not more status reports disappeared. Questions went unanswered as google was not in reach (yesterday I found out why Olivia blows raspberries thanks to google)
4, Twins bed time routine
The honeymoon period is over, gone are the beautiful nights of our kids gently falling asleep as we give them their last feed and then not a peep until morn, now it's a battle of wits and dummies at dawn as we try and ensure that the twins settle right through until morning. Beau is pretty easy once you plug in the dummy but Olivia, who used to be such an angel, now has become a little owl and at regular intervals in the night likes to wake us up with her one tone drone which can often turn into a scream. We've tried all possible routes but guess what the only solution seems to be her eventual residence in our bed ensuring one of us gets an uncomfortable nights sleep as her favourite position is lying prone on our chest.
Whilst it can be a bit of a nightmare, secretly I quite like snuggling up with little Livvy, nothing feels more wonderful than hearing the breath of you child and feeling their heartbeat on your chest...but oh for just one nights full uninterrupted sleep
5, Suddenly snookered by a mystery virus for 1 week
Possibly induced by tiredness and exhaustion, but last week my body felt like it was being attacked by something rotten. No puke or poo involved but a lot of nausea, aches and pains. For over 24 hrs I could not move and then for the rest of the time it felt like my body had given up. To even lift one of the twins made me want to lie down. It was horrendous..but that's when living near family helps as everyone helped out and the twins were well looked after.
I'm thinking that it was brought on by exhaustion, I have been back at the gym training hard and living life as a mum and housewife, not sleeping properly, it's all been non-stop. The computer just said NO and shut down.
Since the twins have been born it has felt like life just keeps moving at 100 mph and you just keep missing the stop that you want to get off at because everything is moving so fast.
It seems that when your baby is born, you're given this extra capacity of space to cope with this new life, but at some point that space becomes full too and there's just nothing more for it than everything to be depleted and start all over again.
As for the twins, they are doing very well and both developing their own little personalities. Beau is very active, he is like a wriggly worm and likes to stand up. He is very sociable and likes to interact with people. Olivia is a little more laid back in her ways and always seems as though she is weighing everything up - very observant. I think she is going to be quite bossy!
They get more gorgeous!
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